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Professor Fred Daspit was born in a modest four-room Cajun house in St. Martinville, Louisiana, a small South Louisiana town. His interest in Louisiana architecture began as a very young man when he observed the wealth of architectural history surrounding him. Today, his knowledge of the topic is unparalleled in this field,

In 1981 Daspit began teaching a course on Louisiana architecture at the Southwestern Louisiana, As he started preparing for his classes, he found no textbook he considered adequate for the topic. A colleague suggested he write his own an idea that 15 years later has come to fruition.

Mr. Daspit involved his students, homeowners, historical societies, and scholars in "the book," as he jocularly referred to the undertaking Louisiana Architecture became. In fact the volume begins with six pages of acknowledgements mentioning individuals who contributed to the final product. Daspit explains regarding these associates, "A work of this scope would not have been possible without their interest and contributions." Together with these concerned parties Daspit built a collection of 10,000 slides covering Louisiana architecture from 1714 to 1910. The current book is the first in a planned series on the topic. The second proposed volume is Louisiana Architecture: 1820- 1840; the third will be Louisiana Architecture: 1840 to the Civil War. The second and third books are written and in the works for publication.

Apparently, the first two structures in the city were a prison and a convent for the Ursuline nuns. (Even over 200 years ago, New Orleans was a town of saints and sinners.) Daspit's drawing of the 1727 convent is used as the rear dust jacket illustration. The book ends with structures in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the state capital; a glossary; maps of the Louisiana Purchase; specific city maps, including New Orleans, showing extant architecturally significant buildings; and different routes for interested readers to explore significant structures.

When photographs of historically significant properties were not available, Daspit, also an artist, created his own illustrations. Daspit included in his book every single structure in the state from the time period that he could find, with the exception of New Orleans, explaining "there were just too many."

Daspit's treatise on the subject of Louisiana architecture is sure to become a classic in the field. His lifelong interest in the topic has now provided other would-be scholars with an abundance of information for study and contemplation.

Visitors to Louisiana will find this book a helpful resource in furthering their appreciation of the state's diverse architectural heritage. French, Anglo Americans, Cajuns, Germans, Irish, Italians, African-Americans, and Hispanics have all combined to make the distinct architectural legacy that is Louisiana.

protologism: protologism: A newly coined word or phrase defined in the hope that it will become accepted into the language; a recently created term possibly in narrow use but not yet in general use.Wiktionary